What makes the FSU so interesting?

[Anotherkiwi]

Mendy, granted I tend to only watch the Olympic sports that interest me and ladies shot put isn't one of them. I can't imagine the negativity you mentioned. Who and where was that from?

Unfortunately New Zealand is the source of a lot of the vitriol where Nadzeya Ostapchuk is concerned.  This is because Valerie Adams, the reigning world champion and favourite for the gold medal, is a Kiwi.  The two women have been rivals for several years - I have no idea whether they are friends away from the arena, but they have alternated at the top of the world rankings for quite a while.
 
Valerie went through a very rough patch a couple of years ago when her marriage broke up and she changed coaches, and Nadzeya shot to the top of the world.  Last year Valerie changed her coach again and won pretty well everything going.  This year Nadzeya has suddenly improved her throws in Belarus by the best part of a metre - that's equivalent to the 100 metre world record being chopped by half a second.  A lot of her throws were further than Valerie has ever thrown.
 
Naturally the western world immediately thought "drugs" and so the Olympics had to come under the spotlight.  Simple answer - Nadzeya threw not far short of what she had achieved at home, Valerie did the same, and there was the difference between gold and silver.  Assuming that all the drug tests have been passed, it's the end of the story for all but the paranoid and the xenophobic.  Sadly, the latter will not let it rest.

[SANDRO43]

Sandro: Yes, in lieu of a cigarette!

So the proper Russian sequence is:  SHOWER -> SEX -> SOUP 

In Italian we have a saying: Paese che vai, usanza che trovi (Visit a foreign country, and you'll find some new custom).

[mendeleyev]

Not just any salad makes it to the exclusive Mendeleyev Journal Salad page but the MJ test kitchen has declared that this Russian "Red Sea Salad" is well deserving so you can find it now listed with our other delicious Russian and Ukrainian salads at the link above.



Ingredients:
 - 150 grams of crab sticks
 - One large tomatoe
 - 1 clove of garlic
 - 20 g of mayonnaise

Preparation:
Cut crab sticks diagonally into strips, cut tomatoes in  julienne style, too. If tomatoes are too watery, drain and remove the seeds. Squeeze in some garlic. Mix with mayonnaise.


For our Russian readers: Салат «Красное море»

Ингредиенты:
 - 150 гр крабовых палочек
 - один большой мясистый помидор
 - 1 зубчик чеснока
 - 20 гр майонеза

Приготовление:
 Палочки порезать наискосок соломкой, помидор тоже порезать соломкой. Если помидор слишком водянистый, то жидкую часть с семечками удалить. Выдавить чеснок. Перемешать и заправить майонезом.
               

[mendeleyev]

How can a city which began in the 7th Century be just 174 years old? Yakov Mendeleyev tackles that question at one of the most beautiful spots on the Black Sea in today's Mendeleyev Journal.

Ялта, 174-летие (Yalta, 174 years anniversary)




Each year on the second Saturday in August marks the annual "Day of the City" of Yalta and so yesterday, 11 August, it seemed as though everyone in the city and from around the region came out to party!




We should distinguish that the 174 years is of Yalta as a Russian/Ukrainian city because the Greeks who founded Yalta (and gave it the Greek name meaning "shore" or "beach") would argue with Yalta being so young. In fact, Yalta was mentioned in literature as early as the 7th Century. If you're wondering why locals calculate 174 years instead of centuries, it is because the area was only granted charter status as a modern city in 1838.





The city says that there are "Seven wonders of Yalta" beginning with the stunning castle known as the "Swallow's Nest", Vorontsov Palace and Park in Alupka, Nikita Botanical Gardens, Church of the Resurrection, Mount Ay-Petri and Ayu Dag nab, and Yalta city.

We cannot argue with a single one of those selections, yet how in the world they excluded Livadia (The White) Palace, Massandra Palace--the Palace of emperor Alexander III with the Massandra Winery, Chekhov's House (White Dacha), Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, St. Ripsime Armenian Church, and the Dulber Palace is quite beyond comprehension! Someone must have been drinking too much vodka when the city list was made.





The "Swallow's Nest" is not only one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea, it has become a defining symbol of Crimea's southern coastline and has been featured in several movie productions.



Surprisingly slender in size, the building measures 20 m (66 ft) long by 10 m (33 ft) wide. Now a restaurant, the original design consisted of three bedrooms, a sitting room, and room for kitchen and dining. The observation deck circles the building and provides great views of the sea and nearby Yalta, a photographer's heaven!





During the Russian Civil War, Yalta became the last refuge for some members of the extended Romanov family. British monarch George V sent the English battleship "Malboro" to Yalta to rescue family members who had not been killed by the Bolsheviks.





If you're looking on a map, Yalta is just 79 km from Simferopol, and well connected by road and trolleybus. During Russia's Imperial days, Yalta was often called the "Southern Capital" because of the summer palaces belonging to the Tsars. Later Joseph Stalin used the Massandra Place, summer home of of emperor Alexander III, as his summer residence.

In 1945 Yalta became the site of the Yalta Conference between the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain. The conference was held at the Livadia Palace, which had been the summer residence of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II and his family.




Happy anniversary Yalta!

[ML]

The city says that there are "Seven wonders of Yalta" beginning with the stunning castle known as the "Swallow's Nest", Vorontsov Palace and Park in Alupka, Nikita Botanical Gardens, Church of the Resurrection, Mount Ay-Petri and Ayu Dag nab, and Yalta city.

I have been to all of the above, except Ayu Dag.

We cannot argue with a single one of those selections, yet how in the world they excluded Livadia (The White) Palace, Massandra Palace--the Palace of emperor Alexander III with the Massandra Winery, Chekhov's House (White Dacha), Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, St. Ripsime Armenian Church, and the Dulber Palace is quite beyond comprehension! Someone must have been drinking too much vodka when the city list was made.

Yes, I agree with you, as I have been to most of these latter places also.

For sheer number of interesting places in, around, and nearby, there are few places that can compare to Yalta.

[Olly]

I have been in Yalta. It is beautifal place! The way to Ay-Petri so impressed me.

[Anotherkiwi]

...During the Russian Civil War, Yalta became the last refuge for some members of the extended Romanov family. British monarch George V sent the English battleship "Malboro" to Yalta to rescue family members who had not been killed by the Bolsheviks.

mendy, it was HMS "Marlborough," and she was British, not English.
 
For more about the ship, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Marlborough_(1912)

[Anotherkiwi]

Unfortunately New Zealand is the source of a lot of the vitriol where Nadzeya Ostapchuk is concerned.  This is because Valerie Adams, the reigning world champion and favourite for the gold medal, is a Kiwi.  The two women have been rivals for several years - I have no idea whether they are friends away from the arena, but they have alternated at the top of the world rankings for quite a while.
 
Valerie went through a very rough patch a couple of years ago when her marriage broke up and she changed coaches, and Nadzeya shot to the top of the world.  Last year Valerie changed her coach again and won pretty well everything going.  This year Nadzeya has suddenly improved her throws in Belarus by the best part of a metre - that's equivalent to the 100 metre world record being chopped by half a second.  A lot of her throws were further than Valerie has ever thrown.
 
Naturally the western world immediately thought "drugs" and so the Olympics had to come under the spotlight.  Simple answer - Nadzeya threw not far short of what she had achieved at home, Valerie did the same, and there was the difference between gold and silver.  Assuming that all the drug tests have been passed, it's the end of the story for all but the paranoid and the xenophobic.  Sadly, the latter will not let it rest.

And now the update...
 
Nadzeya Ostapchuk has tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid (metenolone) and has been disqualified, with the gold medal now going to Valerie Adams.  Read the full story here:
 
http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-withdraws-gold-medal-from-shot-put-athlete-nadzeya-ostapchuk/172684
 
Sorry mendeleyev, but you had better rewrite your story.
 
 

[Faux Pas]

mendy, it was HMS "Marlborough," and she was British, not English.
 
For more about the ship, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Marlborough_(1912)

AK, what is the difference in being British versus being English? Your link to HMS Marlborough doesn't work btw

[ML]

AK, what is the difference in being British versus being English? Your link to HMS Marlborough doesn't work btw

The term 'British' includes people from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[Faux Pas]

The term 'British' includes people from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

My point exactly and we are talking about a navy vessel here aren't we? I honestly do not know where the English/Brit line is drawn

[ghost of moon goddess]

mendy, it was HMS "Marlborough," and she was British, not English.
 
For more about the ship, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Marlborough_(1912)

I think that Mendeleyev used the term "English" in reference to the country where she was built – England, Devonport Dockyard Plymouth.

In 1912, when Marlborough was launched, was the term "British" used in law to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland?

[Anotherkiwi]

My point exactly and we are talking about a navy vessel here aren't we? I honestly do not know where the English/Brit line is drawn

Think of it as the difference between Vermont and New England - all people from Vermont come from New England, but not all people from New England come from Vermont.

[Anotherkiwi]

I think that Mendeleyev used the term "English" in reference to the country where she was built – England, Devonport Dockyard Plymouth.

Sorry GOMG, but I can't accept that - his original reference started with "...the British monarch George V..." Marlborough was a ship in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, not the Royal Navy of England.

In addition to my New Zealand passport I have a British passport, not an English one.
 

In 1912, when Marlborough was launched, was the term "British" used in law to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland?

I can't answer exactly, but any legislation is the same as the description of the Navy - they are the laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and (now) Northern Ireland, i.e. they apply to the whole country, not just to England (setting aside some statutes which do apply only to Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland).

[Anotherkiwi]

...Your link to HMS Marlborough doesn't work btw

It did when I tested it!  It still goes to the stub index - click the header and it goes to the correct page.

[mendeleyev]

mendy, it was HMS "Marlborough," and she was British, not English.

With apologies for the misspelling. At that period in time the term "English" was more often used and so if wrong, again my apologies.

[mendeleyev]

Nadzeya Ostapchuk has tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid (metenolone) and has been disqualified, with the gold medal now going to Valerie Adams.  Read the full story here:
 
http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-withdraws-gold-medal-from-shot-put-athlete-nadzeya-ostapchuk/172684
 
Sorry mendeleyev, but you had better rewrite your story.

As it appears she was guilty of drug use, I support the decision of the Olympic committee.

As to the contents of the texts and twitters send about her, they remain unacceptable. No athlete should be disrespected so cruelly. The comments were heartless and made by people who were in no position to judge her qualifications. The system of testing worked as it should, albeit a tad late, but the comments were off the reservation. I'll post an update which is very appropriate.

[Faux Pas]

As it appears she was guilty of drug use, I support the decision of the Olympic committee.

As to the contents of the texts and twitters send about her, they remain unacceptable. No athlete should be disrespected so cruelly. The comments were heartless and made by people who were in no position to judge her qualifications. The system of testing worked as it should, albeit a tad late, but the comments were off the reservation. I'll post an update which is very appropriate.

+1

[Spoon]

As it appears she was guilty of drug use, I support the decision of the Olympic committee.

As to the contents of the texts and twitters send about her, they remain unacceptable. No athlete should be disrespected so cruelly. The comments were heartless and made by people who were in no position to judge her qualifications. The system of testing worked as it should, albeit a tad late, but the comments were off the reservation. I'll post an update which is very appropriate.

A sad situation indeed, sad for Valerie Adams who now misses the glory of standing on the podium to receive gold and China's Lijiao Gong (now the bronze medalist) who never made it to the podium on the night at all. But also sad that Ostapchuk felt that steroid use was an option.

I hear there may be appeals, but from what I have read, the evidence is quite clear cut. Even if she was able to prove she was unaware of the drug (ie team management spiking without athletes knowledge etc, which did occur a lot in the 80's with East German, Chinese athletes) if the test results are proven to be accurate, she still had an unfair advantage and loses the medal regardless.

[SANDRO43]

In 1912, when Marlborough was launched, was the term "British" used in law to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland?

The term itself is VERY old (I don't know about its legal implications, but it would be difficult to create an adjective from United Kingdom ):

The Britons (sometimes Brythons or British) were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the British Iron Age until the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic. They lived throughout Britain south of about the Firth of Forth; after the 5th century Britons also migrated to continental Europe, where they established the settlements of Brittany in France and the obscure Britonia in what is now Galicia, Spain. Their relationship to the Picts north of the Forth has been the subject of much discussion, though most scholars accept that the Pictish language during this time was a Brythonic language related to, but perhaps distinct from, British.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britons_(historical)

In AD 43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, which came to encompass the parts of the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). The native Celtic inhabitants of the province are known as the Britons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia

Britannia predates England, formerly also known as Angeland or Engeland:

it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927.

The progression from England to the United Kingdom is witnessed by the evolution of the national flag, which reflects the kingdom's gradual expansion:


http://www.loeser.us/flags/english.html

England (St. George's Cross)+Scotland (St. Andrew's Cross) = Great Britain (1606)
Great Britain+Ireland (St. Patrick's Cross) = the United Kingdom (1801)

The asymmetrical placing of St. Patrick's Cross is termed "counterchanging" in heraldry. The Irish may complain that they were shortchanged rather than counterchanged .

In Continental Europe, Great Britain/the United Kingdom are normally referred to as England, and the British as English, to simplify matters .

[Anotherkiwi]

...In Continental Europe, Great Britain/the United Kingdom are normally referred to as England, and the British as English, to simplify matters .

Are the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people aware of that? 
 
And those of us who have been there know that Brittany is not part of France, and France is not part of Europe...
 
Sandro, how do the Sardinians and Sicilians feel about being part of Italy?  Any separatist movements like those in Wales and Scotland?

[Anotherkiwi]

As it appears she was guilty of drug use, I support the decision of the Olympic committee.

Good!

As to the contents of the texts and twitters send about her, they remain unacceptable. No athlete should be disrespected so cruelly. The comments were heartless and made by people who were in no position to judge her qualifications. The system of testing worked as it should, albeit a tad late, but the comments were off the reservation. I'll post an update which is very appropriate.

Normally I would agree, but were these comments any worse than those directed at people such as Paris Hilton and the Kardashian sisters, or some of the newbies on RWD?  Something which I heard from back home tonight was that the testing officials from WADA were barred from entering Belarus earlier this year, so that Ostapchuk and other athletes were not given the mandatory out-of-competition tests required throughout the world.  If this is true, it is yet another black mark against the Belarussian government.  Also, allegedly, she was never tested in any competition in Belarus this year.

[SANDRO43]

Are the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people aware of that?

I met my first Scot in Italy when I was 16, and when I asked him if he was English I received a rather pointed answer .   

Sandro, how do the Sardinians and Sicilians feel about being part of Italy?  Any separatist movements like those in Wales and Scotland?

There was one such movement in Sicily right after WWII, but it lost most of its followers when in 1946 it became one of our 5 regioni a statuto speciale, granting a high degree of autonomy and self-governance to these border and island regions of Italy:

Sicily is practically bankrupt now, given their long-standing habit of hiring crowds of then electorally thankful people for public service. A number of us Northerners are of the opinion that the Italian boot should kick Sicily off the map .

Flag of Sicily: triscele/trinacria and gorgoneion

Sardinia never gave any trouble in this connection, probably because it had been under Savoy's rule since 1718. Sardinians are rather reserved people and, curiously for an island population, with no maritime traditions at all except for local fishing - maybe because their waters had been long infested by Saracen pirates, their flag a gruesome reminder:

Flag of Sardinia: St. George's Cross with 4 severed Moorish heads

In the 1960s we had more problems in the northernmost region with one of its 2 provinces, that of Bolzano (Bozen), a bit of Austria (Südtirol) on our side of the Alps that was annexed after WWI for strategic reasons.

Flag of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol: black St. Venceslas's eagles and red Südtirol eagles

Things there became much quieter after 1972, when the province was granted further independence benefits.

[Anotherkiwi]

Thank you, Sandro - very interesting and much appreciated.

[mendeleyev]

Anotherkiwi:

Something which I heard from back home tonight was that the testing officials from WADA were barred from entering Belarus earlier this year, so that Ostapchuk and other athletes were not given the mandatory out-of-competition tests required throughout the world.  If this is true, it is yet another black mark against the Belarussian government.  Also, allegedly, she was never tested in any competition in Belarus this year.

I don't know but it wouldn't surprise me if the government had barred officials. That it didn't make news however is also surprising and would speak to the problems of the Olympic Committee if they had then allowed untested athletes to participate while other countries had to meet the requirements. She reportedly tested positive the day prior to the event and again the day afterward. That the Olympic Committee allowed someone to compete at all under those conditions is puzzling.